A container for carrying a liquid product can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable so as to impede or prevent efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product including a container and a non-refillable fitment coupled to the container and to evidence efforts to tamper with the product via detachment of a portion of the fitment.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
An anti-refill product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a container including a base, a body extending in a direction axially away from the base, a shoulder extending in a direction axially away from the body, and a neck extending in a direction axially away from the shoulder and including a neck finish, an interior surface, and a detent. The product also includes an anti-refill dispensing fitment positioned in the neck of the container, and including a detachable portion having a radially expandable element and a detent engagement element to engage the container detent. If the fitment is displaced in an axial direction away from the container base, then the detent engagement element engages the detent such that continued displacement of the fitment away from the base results in detachment of the detachable portion such that the detachable portion falls into the container body and thereby renders the product tamper-evident.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a product that includes (a) flowing liquid into a container including a base, a body extending in a direction axially away from the base, and a neck extending in a direction axially away from the body and including a neck finish, an interior surface, and a detent; and (b) assembling an anti-refill fitment into the neck of the container so that a detent engagement element of a detachable portion of the fitment snaps past and engages the container detent and so that a radially expandable element of the fitment is located within the container neck.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a package that includes a bottle having a body and a neck with an open end, a closure coupled to the open end of the neck, and a fitment configured to be received into the open end of the neck. A radially expandable element is detachably coupled to the fitment and disposed to engage a detent in the neck and detach from the fitment when the fitment is removed from the neck, such that the radially expandable element falls into the body and expands, preventing removal into and through the neck.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a tamper-evident component for an anti-refill dispensing fitment to render a container tamper-evident. The component includes a coupling, a radially expandable element extending radially from the coupling, and a container detent engagement element extending axially and radially from the coupling.